Dispensing container for sheet materials



May 2, 1944. L. GOODMAN :1- AL DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed Dec. 19, 1,941

INVENTORE: LEON EDUJJMAN and By RE/NHULD BR/M'DWEIN Patented May 2, 1944 DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR SHEET MATERIALS Leon Goodman and Reinhold Brandwein, Chicago, 111., assignors to Crystal Tube Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application December 19, 1941, Serial No. 423,636

3 Claims.

This invention relates in general to containers and in particular to dispensing containers for sheet materials from which the sheets may be removed one at a time. In thehair-waving industry it is customary to employ small rectangular sheets of Cellophane and like materials as retention-end papers. In permanent waving of hair the strand of hair is folded inside one of the retention-end papers and the enclosed strand of hair is then coiled over the curling device. It is customary for the hair-waving operators to apply liquid preparations to the hairduring such operations and this means that the operators hands are always wet at this time. Accordingly, when the operator attempts to withdraw a single sheet of Cellophane and the like from a stack of such sheets it has been found that frequently more than one sheet is withdrawn at a time. s

The present invention has for its general object the provision of a container for sheet materials adapted to permit the withdrawal of only a single sheet at a time.

A more specific object is to provide a container for hair-waving retention-end papers from which the operator with wet hands can withdraw the sheets one at a time.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a small dispensing container for hairwaving sheet materials which is adapted to be carried on the operators wrist.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

According to the present invention there is provided a dispensing container for sheet materials comprising a rigid container having an opening at the top and elongated finger-like members partly closing said opening and a resilient means positioned within said container for constantly pressing a stack of sheets against said top opening and said fingers.

In the now preferred embodiment the resilient means comprises a spring located off center in the base of said container and a movable'plate fixed to the top of said spring upon which the stack of papers rests whereby one end of said fixed plate may be more readily depressed than the other end.

The container of the present invention is adapted for dispensing various sheet materials, either single sheets or folded sheets such for example, as napkins, advertisement, folders, tickets,

checks and the like, but is particularly advantageous when employed for holding retention-end papers used in hair-waving from which an opersheet at a time. Such retention-end papers may be formed of any non-fibrous sheet material such for example, as Cellophane, cellulose derivatives, synthetic resins and the like or of any fibrous sheet material such as paper, glassine and the like.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the container of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section of the container shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the rear of the container shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of another embodiment of the container of the invention in which the container has a curved base and;

Fig. 5 is an illustration of the container of Fig.

.4 as applied to the wrist of an operator.

The container of the present invention may be formed of any suitable stifl, rigid material such for example, as pressed fiber board and metal, but in the preferred embodiment the container is formed of synthetic resin preferably by a molding'operation so that in its simplest embodiment it comprises only four parts,'as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a base I, a top 2 adapted to fit tightly within said base, a spring 3 and a plate 4 positioned within the container between the top of the spring and the top of the container.

In the now preferred embodiment of the container one end of the container, that is, the dispensing end 5, is of greater height than the rear end B and the top I of the container is therefore of irregular shape as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the top being flat over the rear end of the container and being sloped upward toward the front end. Referring to Figs. 1 and 3 it will be noted that the top is substantially open over the sloped portion whereasthe flat or horizontal portion comprises a rigid retaining member consisting of a plurality of elongated strips 8 which are integral with the rear wall 6 and terminate in rounded ends 9 adjacent the center of the top. At the corner pieces [6 which are integral with the side and end walls, these corner pieces serving to hold the sheets in position over the sloped area of the top.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 it will be noted that the plate 4 is shaped to conform substantially with the top surface of the container. The

ator having wet hands may withdraw a single sheets 13 are p i n etwe n t plate 4 and the top I. The plate 4 is continuously urged against the sheets and holds the sheets against the top by means of a resilient means such as the spring 3; while a coil spring has been illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 it is to be understood that any conventional type of spring maybe employed or an equivalent weighted lever may be substituted for such spring;

A special feature of the container of the present invention is that the pressure which is applied to the plate 4 upon which-the'sheets rest, is applied at a point oif center as shown in Fig; 2:

As a result of this articular positioning of" the spring the plate 4 may bedepressedmore easily at the end A than at the end B thus" permitting the stack of sheets to be slightly depressed by the hand of the operator; for the purpose of separating the topmost sheet from the stack of sheets I3.

The upper edge of the endwall 5-is cutaway between the side walls at the point C (see Fig. 2) to expose the edge of the topmost sheets of the stack.

Heretofore it has been customary for the container to be held by the customer or positioned upon a table adjacent theoperator but in that embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 4 I

and 5 the container of the present invention is adapted to be carried on the arm of the operator. For this purpose the-base l of the container as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is-made with a curve to conform with the curve. of' the wrist and means are provided for attaching the'container to the arm of the operator, suitable means being a strap ll provided with a buckle 12- as shown in Fig. 5. When the container is adapted to be carried on thearm of the operator it can be made relatively thin so as to hold only enough papers for' one completehair-w'aving operation. To fill the container of the invention the plate 4 is depressed and a stack of sheets is forced into the container through the opening in the top. Alternatively, the topmay be removably mounted on the base I' in which case the spring 3 and the plate 4' are fixed to the baseso that upon removing the top the sheets may be positioned on the plate 4 and. the top replaced.

In the use of the present container theoperator depresses the stack of sheets slightly with one finger as shown inFig; 5 thus causing the topmost sheet to buckle until its end slips from under the end pieces It], thus the'sheet becomes free and may be removed. After the end of the sheet has been freed, a fast upward motion is imparted to such sheet to free' the other end from the strips 8. This operation does not disturb the sheets below due to the slope of the rest plate 4. During this operation the strips 8' and the rest plate 4 exert'sufiicient pressure upon the stack to prevent the removal of more than one sheet. t thesame'time the end pieces l9 co-operate to retain the ends of the other sheets which have not been lifted upby the operator.

By use of the present device only one sheet at, a time is removed so that the waste and inconvenience of removing several sheets at a time is avoided. The device is economical to build, simple and eflicient in operation.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and diiferent embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described our invention, what we claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An irregularly shaped device for dispensing stacked-sheets comprising a container having a rectangular bottom, end walls and side walls having top edges sloping upward at one end of said device, a rigid retaining means covering a partof said top; the end walls of said container having unequal vertical dimensions, an opening in-the top for dispensing individual sheets from said container,. corner pieces attached to the end wall havingthe greater vertical dimension and'adj'acentto said-opening and extending over a portion of said opening, and means within said container for resiliently pressing sheets stacked therein against said rigid retaining means and said corner pieces.,

2. An irregularly shaped device for dispensing stacked sheets comprising a container having a bottom, end wallsand side walls, a rigid retaining means forming a part of said top, the end walls of said' container having unequal vertical dimensions, an opening in the top for dispensing individual sheets from said container adjacent the end Wall having the greater vertical dimension, corner pieces attached to the end wall having the greater verticaldimensionand adjacent to said opening and extending over a portion of said opening, a movable plate positioned within said container, a spring mounted off center away from the longer vertical end on the bottom of said container and engaging said plate, pressing the plate upwardly against said retaining means whereby. said plate may be more easily depressed at one end than at the other.

3. An irregularly shaped devicefor dispensing stacked sheets comprising acontainer having a bottom, end walls and side walls having top edges sloping upward at one end of said device and substantially horizontal at the other end, a rigid retaining means forming a part of said top, the end walls of said container having. unequal vertical dimensions, an opening in the top for dispensing individual sheets from said container adjacent the end wall having the greater vertical dimension, corner pieces attached to the end wall having the greater vertical dimension and adjacentto said opening and extending over a portion of said opening, an angularly shaped movable plate within said container, a spring positioned between said plate and the bottom of said container, whereby said spring presses the plate upwardly against said retaining means, the angle of the plate substantially conforming to the angle of the top edge of said side walls.

LEON GOODMAN. REINHOLD BRANDVVEIN. 

